The only thing that is constant is change
by Goodiguess
Summary: It all started with mail-order brides and a dangerous case in the geology department. What if Nick discovers he wants to settle down, but he himself is surprised to learn his soulmate isn't the person he would expect? Starts in Season 5
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own CSI**

 **Update: every 2-3 weeks**

"You said WHAT to Grissom?" Nick looked at his younger colleague in surprise. Warrick laughed amused. "Sanders, you really don't know when to shut up." Catherine and Sara joint in with Warrick, while Nick was still flabbergasted. "Well, maybe sometimes I overshare?" Greg offered with an innocent smile. "You think so?" Sara asked unable to stop chuckling. They had just worked on a case that involved gender re-assignment and the young lab technician had mentioned to his supervisor that he really likes to have a penis. He couldn't help it. Grissom still made him feel nervous. When he was nervous he blurted out lots of rubbish things. Then he felt even more nervous. It was a vicious circle.

"How did he react?" Nick finally enquired. "He frowned at me and kept on working like I didn't say anything." The Texan shook his head, still in disbelieve. "You're such a goofball, G!" A wide grin appeared on Greg's face. "That's me." He knew the insult was meant in a loving way.

"He is still letting you take the proficiency test, though?" Sara enquired. Her face showed a hint of worry. "Yes- like I said he just pretended I didn't say anything. Don't worry guys. I will definitely be professional when I work in the field. I'm not a child you know." Nick had to laugh about this claim. "Well, G, sometimes you are." The grin on Greg's face got even wider if that was even possible. "But that's why you all love me."

* * *

It had only been a week since Greg had passed his final proficiency test, when he and Sara were called to a crime scene in the geology department of the Las Vegas University. Then they had still been a team. Now they were separated, working either night or swing shift. Then he had worked on the case of a Sherlock Holmes wannabe's murder that someone staged as an alleged suicide. Now a new mystery would unfold itself to them.

Greg put his kit onto the ground. His gaze wandered through the room that was tainted with blood. He stood in the rock preparation laboratory. Two big rock sawing machines were at the right hand side of the room, while on the left hand side two smaller ones were located. In the middle of the room a grinding machine could be found. Equipment geologist used to produce thin-sections.

 _Someone had something else in mind though…_

Sara had stayed back with Brass to take the statement of the poor research assistant who had found the laboratory in its bloody state. Greg could only imagine how horrible it must have been for the young student. He still hadn't got used to the sight of blood evidence himself. He opened his kit, put on some gloves and started to work up the crime scene. There was lots of blood, at least 6 pints, but no indication of a body or even body parts. Where the hell was the victim? Carefully he took blood swaps from the different sawing machines. He stored them carefully in a case.

"Any thoughts?" Sara's voice echoed from the walls. Greg raised his eyebrows. "Well, there is lots of blood, but apparently no body," he stated the obvious. "You know, I wonder if this could be some kind of fraternity prank. I mean, maybe the blood is not human. Wouldn't be the first time things like this happened on university grounds."

"Maybe you are right, Greggo. Let's go back to the lab and have Mia test the blood. We should keep the crime tape up ,though. Just in case this is not just a tasteless prank, but a murder scene." He nodded. "Couldn't agree more."

* * *

Greg and Sara headed back to the lab, where Greg handed the swaps he collected over to Mia in DNA. Then he headed over to the break room. A bright smile appeared on his lips when he spotted Nick and Warrick. He really missed having those both around him. Warrick could be harsh sometimes, but he had learnt so much of him as well. Nick was his best friend, it was just not the same without his humours comments or infectious smile.

" Hola chicos!" Since Ecklie separated the team he almost never saw those two. "Hey G, how are you? I think I haven't seen you in a week." Nick sat on the sofa, arms resting on the back of it. Greg dropped down next to him. "I'm alright I guess. I miss you guys… I even miss Warrick's insults." Nick tousled his hair. "Cheer up I'm quite optimistic that this is just temporary…but we miss you too." Warrick nodded. "Damn right, Sanders. I especially miss to be able to deal out that insults." Greg stuck his tongue out.

"So why are you guys still here? Shouldn't you be at home by now?" The former lab tech enquired. Nick sighed. "Yes, in theory. But swing shift is understaffed and those reports don't write themselves." He stroked through his dark brown hair. "I'm exhausted…"

"Me too, man," Warrick chimed in. His pager rang. "Ohhh our new supervisior wants to see me…" Nick looked at him interrogatively. "What could Catherine want?" Warrick shrugged his shoulders. "Beats me. I guess I need to go and find out," he stated and left the room.

Greg pushed himself up and busied himself making coffee. "Can I offer you a cup of my awesome coffee?" he asked Nick. "That should kick start your brain without problems." The Texan smirked. "Yeah sure, thanks."

Greg turned around and examined the older man. Nick had black shadows under his eyes, that usually had that bright shine of optimism, and he was a lot paler. Greg couldn't believe how exhausted his friend looked. He felt really bad for him. His dislike for Ecklie increased day to day since he separated them.

"So what case you're working Greg? I heard you and Sara went to the university today?" Nick asked after a while. "Yes, but I'm not sure if it is really a case or just a prank." The coffee was ready. Greg poured two cups and handed one to Nick who received it thankfully. "To be honest…I really hope it is a prank. The alternative would be that there is a crazy psycho out there who uses the saws in the geology department to chop up bodies or even worse to cut someone in pieces while they are still alive." A cold shower ran down his spine. He needed to get this image out of his mind. He took a big sip from his cup.

"Yeah that would be pretty crazy…" This response made Greg frown. He sat back down next to Nick. "You seem preoccupied," he stated. "Sorry…it's just this case we had. Mail-order brides…I just don't get it. It seems no one is a romantic anymore." Greg looked at his friend surprised. "And you are? As far as I can remember you had several one night stands in the last couple of month. Poor women…you didn't even call them again."

Nick pouted. "Touché. But I wasn't looking for that one person I want to spend the rest of my life with…recently though…" –"You're feeling your biological clock ticking?" Greg offered. Nick boxed his upper arm playful. "Very funny, G. No. "He shook his head." What I wanted to say: Recently I feel that I want to find that special someone…no more fooling around."

Greg looked at his friend. Was he for real? Somehow it seemed a weird thought. Nick and a wife and possibly little children running around in a garden. He cleared his throat. "Good luck finding her." He got up. Somehow this conversation went into a direction that made him feel uncomfortable. Also, he told Sara he would just grab a coffee and be right back.

Greg went for the door, missing the confused look on his friend's face. In this moment Sara opened the door to the break room. He almost ran into her. "Greg, pay attention where you're going" she cursed. "Sorry, Sara," he gazed at her apologetically. "It's alright. I was looking for you anyways. Mia has the results of the blood test."

"And?" he asked frowning.

"It's human."

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed this first chapter**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the follows, favourites and the first review XD**

* * *

Nick hunkered down to take some detail photos of the victim on the floor. Since he talked to Greg about finding his one yesterday, he couldn't get the reaction of the younger CSI out of his head. Why did Greg run away like the room was on fire? Nick sighed. Sometimes he just didn't understand what was going on in his friend's mind.

"This is about the tenth time that you sighed today," Warrick pointed out. "What's up, man?" Nick looked up at his co-worker. "It's Greg…" Warrick frowned. "How come?"

"Well, I let slip yesterday, that I'm at a point of my life where I want to settle down. He reacted very particular. He almost ran out of the room." Warrick scratched his chin. "Maybe he just wanted to get away from the old-geezer talk…" he offered. Nick rolled his eyes. "I'm serious, Warrick. Why would he act like that?"

"Maybe Sanders has a crush on you…he told us that he is bisexual after all." Warrick shrugged his shoulders. Nick sighed again. The eleventh time. "Sure…" He decided to ignore Warrick as he wasn't offering anything helpful. He went into the next room and began processing it.

 _As if Greg has a crush on me…we're just good friends. Sure, he acts flirtatious towards me most of the time, but he does this with everybody except Grissom maybe._ Nick shook his head laughed at himself. Here he was at a crime scene and all he could think about was his crazy friend Greg. And even worse he started to consider that Warrick's absurd ideas could have some merit. Maybe he just overinterpreted his friend's reaction. _I should just forget about it._

* * *

Greg stood with his hands on his hips and starred at the saws that had been transported to the lab's garage. As Sara had explained to him his task would be to dissemble each and every one of them and search for human tissue and hidden finger prints. She and Brass were off to the university to get a list of people who had access to the Rock Preparation Laboratory.

"Well, I might as well get to it…" he said to himself. He put on his headphones. His music player was set to The Killers. He put the volume up, grabbed a wrench and started his task.

Three hours later he had dissembled every single saw. He had found parts of an ear and a tooth. Greg exchanged the wrench for fingerprint dust and a brush. Carefully he brushed the newly exhumed surfaces. Saw blades, nuts and bolts and all the nitty gritty pieces. No fingerprints though. Whoever cut up the body was smart enough to wear gloves.

He returned upstairs to get the tooth and the ear to Mia in DNA. "Could you check if this matches the blood that I collected at the crime scene?" The tech smiled at him and took the samples. "Sure, Greg. So far I can tell you that your victim is male and not in CODIS." Greg scratched his head. "Figures. I bet it's a professor or lecturer. They usually don't have rap sheets." Mia nodded. "You're right about that. I'll get to it as soon as I can." Greg thanked her and went to search for Sara. Maybe she had any news.

While walking through the hallways he spotted her talking to Grissom. He would rather not disturb those two, so he went to the break room to get a coffee. For a while now he wondered if anything was going on between his boss and her. Sara definitely had the hots for Grissom. A blind person could tell that. Question was if Grissom would give into her as he obviously liked her as well.

He fixed himself a cup of Blue Hawaiian. He leaned again the counter top. What was it with all his co-workers lately? Besides the Sara-Grissom thing, there were definitely sparks between Warrick and Catherine- they pranced around each other for years. The fact that Warrick seemed to have a girl right now didn't change the fact. And now even Nick spoke about settling down.

 _Am I jealous that they know what they want?_

It was weird, he never wasted any thought about it until yesterday. He took a deep breath. He didn't understand what was wrong with him himself. Why was the thought of Nick getting married so hurtful? Or were some old feelings he thought he had tugged away slowly resurfacing?

 _No it couldn't be…_

"Greg, don't just stare into space," The familiar sound of Grissom's voice. "You're still on the clock, aren't you?"

* * *

Greg was back at the university. The secretary of studies handed him a list of professors, lecturers, post-docs as well as PhD candidates that worked at the department. "Do you know if anyone is reported missing?" Greg asked the woman. "Not that I know of." She shook her head. "But even if someone was missing, it might not have been reported yet."

Greg raised his eyebrows. "How come?" The woman gazed at him as if he asked a really stupid question. "Well, we're talking about geologists here…conferences, field work, meetings with their sponsors. Ask any PhD student, half of the time they have no clue where their supervisors are…that is why." _So someone could be missing without anyone noticing._ "Alright. If you hear anything…" –"I call you." She looked at him impatiently as if he was wasting her time. "Thank you."

Greg left her office. The secretary was quite an unpleasant person. He wandered around the hallways of the department. Then he stopped in his track. He just got an idea how he could learn more about the dynamics of the department. He made his way over to the PhDs' office.

The office of the PhD students was a big open plan space with thirty desks crammed into it. Due to the fact that it was summer break at the moment only a handful if people were actually in for work. Greg walked over to a freckle-faced auburn haired guy who was working on some kind of reconstruction. "Excuse me, I'm Greg Sanders from the Las Vegas Crime Lab. I was wondering if I could ask you a couple of questions." The PhD turned to him und smiled. "Sure man, everything that keeps me from working…My name is Kenneth by the way. Is this about the incident in the rock preparation lab?" He gestured Greg to sit down next to him. Greg grabbed one of the chairs and sat down. "Indeed. I was wondering, does any of your profs or lecturers have enemies that would want to hurt them?" Kenneth frowned. "You kidding? I could tell you at least three guys who know how to piss of people." Greg nodded. "I'm listening." It didn't mean any of these men would actually be their victim, but it was a place to start. "Well, there is Pierre LaRue, our paleontology prof. Word is he stole the research of one of his peers. Then there is Matthew O'Brian, the assistant professor in sedimentology who has an affair with an undergraduate and last, but not least, our very own professor of sedimentology Alastair Stewart. He has pissed of everyone in the department over the years and he also doesn't have lots of friends in the geologist community. Thinks he is smarter than everyone else."

Greg returned to the lab with the names he got from Kenneth. He called all of them. It turned out that LaRue was gone for summer holidays and very much enjoyed the sun at the Cote d'Azur, while O'Brian was at a conference in Houston. The only one unaccounted for was Alastair Stewart. By now it was too late to stop by his family's house though. It would have to wait to tomorrow. The young CSI sat in the break room and wrote down everything Sara and he had found so far. He sighed. Progress in this case was slow to almost none existent- no wonder Grissom had pulled Sara a couple of hours ago to work on another case. That meant that Greg had to solve this one all by himself.

"How is your case going?" It was Nick's voice. "Could go better. I have a possible victim. Need to collect some of his DNA for comparison. If it's not him I got zipp." Nick sat down on the table and looked at him. "Don't beat yourself up over this, G. Some cases are like this and some cases will never get solved." Greg leaned back in his chair. "I know Nicky…but I would like to show everyone that I'm not only the geeky lab-rat anymore, but a fully-fledged CSI." The Texan smiled at him. "Don't need to convince me. I'm very much aware that you are a good CSI." That made Greg smile. How did Nick always knew what to say to cheer him up? "By the way your shift is almost over…I could probably head out for a quick breakfast, before I have to start mine. I haven't been to Jane's diner in forever." Greg nodded. "That would be great, I'm starving. Let's head out before Catherine sees you."

* * *

 **Okay that was chapter two. Hope you enjoyed.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3. Thanks again to those who followed and favourited the story!**

They were sitting opposite each other. Nick had missed hanging out with Greg more than he had realised. Sure he and Warrick were best friends and they could talk about sports and all that stuff. Spending time with Greg was different in many ways. The subjects they talked about span almost everything from the newest discoveries in science to Las Vegas mob trivia. Greg's easy-going and bubbly behaviour sometimes betrayed how knowledgeable and clever he was. Spending time with Greg made Nick happy as well as his attitude to life seemed to rub off onto him. Of lately Nick was in a bit of a rough state of mind as he questioned if he was throwing his life away. He was in his mid-thirties and longed to get settled down. But he had no idea how to even start doing so.

"So Mr. Stokes, can I interpret your wish to find a woman to marry, buy a house with a picket fence and father some children as some kind of mid-life crisis?" Greg's brown eyes studied him, while he was drinking a sip of coffee. That kid knew him to well. "I'm not that old, you know…" he said grimacing. "And who said something about marriage, real estate and kids? I would settle for not being alone for the time being." He put two sugars in his coffee cup and stirred until they had dissolved. "Maybe you're searching in the wrong place?" the younger man suggested.

Nick studied him. It was an innocent comment. _Damn you Warrick for putting these thoughts in my head._ "Maybe…"

"Enough of me. Anyone new in your life?" He didn't want to talk about himself anymore. At least not until Warrick's comments had vanished from his memory. Greg shrugged his shoulders. "No, couldn't say there was. Ever since I started being a proper CSI I feel way too tired to get myself to go out and meet someone. You should have warned me that it was this exhausting." Nick raised his hands in playful defense. "Hey G, I tried, but you just wouldn't listen." He smiled. There was that happy feeling again. "Yeah you probably did. Shame on me for being such a dickhead." Greg returned his smile.

* * *

He was spent. He fell face first into the soft pillows that were scattered on his bed. He yawned and contemplated to not get changed before sleeping. He had no idea how the others were doing it. It definitely made him appreciate the time he spent in the DNA more than he used to. Being a lab-rat wasn't the worst thing in the world- not that we wanted to go back. He also loved being a CSI. It just needed some getting used to.

Greg sighed and got up to change into his PJs and brush his teeth. It was good to catch up with Nick today. He had missed him. Missed talking to him and having him around period. Sure, Sara was his best friend, but she was occupied with Grissom most of the time. He knew about those two. They shouldn't even try to deny it. He had a sixth sense when it came to matters of the heart and he was also pretty good in reading body language.

He flopped onto his bed again and grabbed one of the pillows. He hold it close and sighed. He envied them. He felt so bloody alone sometimes.

Later that day Greg pressed the doorbell at the Stewart family home. Vartann stood next to him. Since he was working this case alone, he had to take a detective to all official questioning. Greg was glad that he wasn't alone. He remembered very well that Nick had guns pulled in his face more than one time when he had worked by himself. If possible he would like to avoid that experience. A white haired woman in her fifties answered the door. "Mrs. Stewart?" She nodded. "You must be the people from the LVPD, please come in." She let them in and led them into the living room.

Greg looked around. The position of a professor in Sedimentology must pay quite nice. The home of the Stewart's was a mansion rather than a house. The furniture were mostly antique and made of exquisite materials. "Can I offer you some coffee or tea?" Mrs. Stewart offered when he sat down. "Coffee for me," Vartann answered. "For me as well, please," Greg replied. "Just one moment." Mrs. Stewart vanished into the kitchen. Greg realised that she was nervous. He wondered why.

A couple of minutes she came back with three cups of coffee. She handed one to Greg. "Thank you, Mrs. Stewart. I hope you don't mind me asking a couple of questions, before I collect some of your husbands DNA?" She shook her head. "Go ahead, anything to help you with the investigation."

"When have you seen your husband the last time?" Mrs. Stewart put her hands into her lap and thought about her answer. "That must have been two week ago. You see Mr. Sanders," she read that from his vest," I went Geneva to meet some of my colleagues who work with the Large Hadron Collider. I only got back yesterday. I had no notion of Alastair missing." She looked down to her hands. "Do you think my husband is dead?"

"I can't say anything for sure yet. That's why the lab needs a sample of your husband's DNA, so we can compare it to the DNA we found on the scene." He hesitated for a second, before he went on. "Mrs. Stewart… word in the department is that your husband had a band load of enemies. Do you know anything about that?"

Mrs. Stewart got up. She started pacing around the room. "Well I guess Alastair wasn't liked by a lot of his co-workers," she admitted. "But they are jealous little pricks." She stopped in her tracks. "I apologise for that." Vartann grimaced. "Ma'am we are used to rougher language, you don't need to apologise." Mrs. Stewart sighed. She continued to pace around the room. "Alastair is really good in what he is doing. He has better industry funding than all of the other professors and lecturers together. I guess my husband also doesn't hold back with his opinion. When he thinks someone his wrong he will tell them." She stopped again and looked directly at Greg. "Sometimes he isn't very tactful about it."

Mrs. Stewart gave Greg a toothbrush, before she waved them goodbye. He brought it directly to the DNA lab to have it compared to the DNA sample of the victim. While he was waiting for the results he went into the breakroom and poured himself a coffee. He saw Sara sitting on the table. She was writing a report. "Hey Sara." He sat down next to her. "Hey Greg, how is it going?" she said with a small smile on her lips. "Alright I guess… I will hopefully know the identity of my victim soon." He took a sip of the black gold in his cup. "Glad to hear you are making progress." She lay down her pencil and turned to him. "Listen Greg, it was Grissom's decision to pull me from the case." Greg gave her an honest smile. "I know and he was right to do so. This is not a two man job. Your skills are best used on other cases. "She returned the smile. "I guess you're right." – "Of course I'm right. What I don't get is why you thought you needed to defend the decision in the first place. "He looked at her inquiringly. "Don't get this the wrong way, but you aren't a CSI that long yet…I thought I left you hanging."

Greg frowned. Even Sara thought that he wasn't up to the task of a CSI yet? It hurt to hear it from his best friend, but he didn't let it show on his face. "I'm doing fine." He stood up abruptly. "Gotta check if Wendy has my results yet." That was a lie. He was a bit irritated with Sara for saying such a thing. He felt like the only person who trusted in his abilities was Nick. The rest of them kept questioning if he was up for the task or if it wasn't too much of a job for him. It was hurtful and degrading. They never asked his ability when he was still in the DNA lab.

Later that shift Wendy paged him. "What you got for me?" He entered the DNA lab. The technician smiled at him. "Good news. The DNA I recovered from the toothbrush matches the DNA of the samples from the university." She handed him the test results. "That's great. Thank you Wendy." Finally he had a lead on this case. _Poor Mrs. Stewart. I will have to tell her that her husband is dead after all._ I notified Brass that he needed a warrant for Prof. Stewart's office. From everything he had learnt about the man, he inferred that a search of his workspace would be more promising than a search of his mansion. If needed he could always do that later.

* * *

Greg returned to the Geology Department a while later with a warrant. He gathered that the secretary wouldn't be happy. He was on his way to her, when he bumped into the PhD he met before. When he remember right his name was Kenneth. "CSI Sanders, you're back," the young man stated seemingly beaming at him with his green eyes. "Does that mean there are news on the case?"

Greg looked at him apologetically. "I can't discuss an ongoing investigation. Sorry, Kenneth." Kenneth ran his fingers through his auburn hair and smiled meekly. "Of course- sorry I asked. If you have more questions about any of the people in the department though, I'm more than happy to help you with that."

"I might have to take you up on that offer," Greg said amused. "Oh that is what I'm hoping. Bye for now…Greg." The PhD student gave him another smile and turned around.

Did he imagine it or had that guy just hit on him? Greg wasn't entirely sure. It felt good to get some attention for a change.

 _Time to go back to work_ he reminded himself.

Prof. Stewart's office reminded Greg of his old chemistry professor in Stanford. The room was in a state of organised clutter. If the others were here they would probably tell him, that he used to have the same organised clutter in his lab when he still worked DNA. It made him smile. The room also had a weird smell of dust, old paper and something familiar Greg couldn't quite grasp.

The walls were covered in cupboards full of books and journals. The desk had a laptop, some papers and a couple of rock samples on top. Greg frowned when he realised that the laptop wasn't shut down, but merely in hibernation mode. That was interesting. He bagged it for Archie.

He let his gaze wonder. The professor owned a fridge. Greg figured it must be for beer bottles. It wasn't a secret that geologist like to drink some beer after a good day of work. He hunkered down next to the fridge. The weird smell got stronger. He had a funny feeling about it.

Greg opened the fridge. Instead of beer bottles he found a body cut in small pieces contained in sample bags. He grimaced. Now he knew why that smell had been so familiar. Needless to say Prof. Stewart hadn't stuffed himself into that fridge which meant the killer must have been in his office.

He stood up and left the office. "This is a crime scene," he told the uniformed policeman who had accompanied him. "I need some yellow tape here." Then he called Dave for the body parts and Grissom to inform him about the break in this case.


	4. Chapter 4

The club was buzzing. The team with the exception of Grissom had met up to have a night out together. It was Catherine, Warrick and Nick's night off and they decided to spend it with the others. Greg and Sara stood on the bar to get a round of drinks for their friends. "Listen Greg," Sara spoke loudly so the young man could hear her. "I wanted to apologise if my comment earlier suggested I don't appreciate your work. Believe me I do." Greg lifted his eyebrows. "You're sure?" Sara glared at him. "I wouldn't say it if you wouldn't mean it. You should know me better than that." His face lightened up and his signature smile appeared on his lips. "Alright…thanks."

"What can I get you?" the bartender interrupted them. "Can we get three beers and two Mojitos?" The bartender nodded carefully. "Can I see some ID?" Greg rolled his eyes. "Really?" He sighed and got his driver's license out of his wallet. He handed it to the man behind the bar who studied it thoroughly. "Okay man." He received his ID back.

"So you think this is funny?" Greg asked Sara. He hadn't missed her amused smirk. "You have to admit that it is a bit funny. You should be happy. I would be happy if someone asked me for my ID from time to time," she snickered. Greg was still not convinced.

The bartender handed them their drinks for which he paid. "You know what happened to me today when I went back to the university?" he said while they were walking back to the rest of their group. "Shot." He smiled benignly. "One of the PhD students flirted with me."

Sara laughed. "Why am I not surprised? I know someone else who has the habit of flirting with a lot of people. Wait, that person is you." He sighed. "This was different than my platonic flirting."

"Was she hot?"

"Who was hot?" Catherine asked. They had arrived at the booth the others were occupying. "Greg, had someone come on to him today while he was out to collect evidence," Sara explained.

Greg could feel how the group's attention was focussed on him. He took a deep sip of his beer. "Firstly of all it was a guy, and he wasn't bad looking." Nick looked at him in a funny way that Greg couldn't interpret.

"But that is not the point. It felt weird," he went on," I mean he could be suspect, right?"

Catherine smiled at him knowingly. "This happens to me all the time, Greggo," she boasted. "Just take it as a compliment." Sara nodded. "Catherine is right. I'm not surprised. Who could withstand those big brown eyes?" She and Catherine laughed sweetly.

Greg blushed a bit. "You two are ridiculous."

The two women continued to snicker. Catherine put her hand on his shoulder. "Would you care to dance with two ridiculous ladies?" Greg smirked amused. "Sure why not…" Catherine grabbed his hand and let him to the dancefloor. Sara joined them.

Warrick shook his head. "This kid…he is good. Gets the girls all ravelled up. Gotta give it to him." He chuckled. Nick had a big smile on his face. "You need to get yourself a pair of those big brown eyes too, Warrick. That seems to be the secret." His gaze lay on his three co-workers who swayed to the sound of the music. His eyes should follow the two lovely ladies he worked with, but they were stuck on his slender friend. He could not believe a possible suspect had hit on Greg. He didn't know why but it didn't feel right and made him queasy. He emptied his bottle of beer in a couple of gulps. "Want another one?" he asked Warrick. "Sure Nicky, as long as you are buying."

* * *

Greg waved Warrick, Catherine and Sara off. Sara was driving them home as they lived on the eastside of Las Vegas. Greg had offered to take Nick home. He had only drunken one beer and was therefore still able to drive. "Time to get you home, boozy," he noted when he sat down behind the steering wheel. Nick was already on the passenger seat. He was pretty drunk. His eyes were heavy and glazed over. "I'm not drunk," he insisted, but the slur of his speech gave him away.

"If you say so." Greg smirked. It had been a while since he saw Nick that wasted. Luckily it was his day off, so he would be able to sleep it off without having to work with a hangover.

Greg started the car. Nick was quiet the whole trip. He looked out of the window, seemingly hypnotized by Vegas' lights. After half an hour Greg parked his hybrid outside Nick's condo. "I better bring you to your door," he stated. He was worried his friend wouldn't be able to unlock his door and sleep on his patio. "If you insist…"

Nick got out of the car. He walked up to his door unsteadily. Greg put his arm around him to steady him. "Hey there cowboy." They arrived at the door. Greg took Nick's keys out of his hands and unlocked the door.

"You shouldn't flirt with random guys, ya know." He heard Nick say. His Texan accent always got thicker when he was drunk. Greg turned around. "I didn't flirt with him, Nick. He flirted with me," he pointed out amused. Nick had always been protective about him. Looked out for him.

"Ha, you don't even realise when you're flirtin' anymore," Nick said seriously. He stepped one step closer to his younger friend. Greg could feel his alcohol-infused breath on his face. Nick was as close to him as it gets without the two of them touching. He studied the walnut brown eyes of his friend for a sign what was going to happen. He gulped slowly.

The two men looked each other for what seemed to be an eternity.

"You should go inside and get some sleep," Greg finally said. Nick jerked out of his trance. "Right man…see you, G." He passed by and stumbled into his house shutting the door behind him.

Greg let out a breath he didn't know he held. He ran his fingers through his hair. _What the hell?_

All the feelings he had harboured for his co-worker and friends resurfaced in one instance. When he had first joined the lab he had crushed heavily on the good-looking Texan CSI named Nick. But when they became friends and he learnt that he was basically a womanizer he decided to burry those feelings deep inside of him. He had never been reminded of them up until tonight.

Why did it get so complicated? Stupid drunk Nick Stokes.

Greg walked back to his car trying to calm his nerve and his rapid beating heart. He never meant to have this feelings for his best friend. But now he wouldn't be able to stop thinking about him again. He sighed.

* * *

Nick had made it to his couch. He collapsed on it. What had just happened? He didn't know. He couldn't think. Why did he even care if Greg flirted with other men? It had never bothered him when he flirted with girls. It was not meant to be like this. He shouldn't feel jealous of some random guy.

He didn't want to feel like this. Nick didn't even like guys like that. It was Greg's fault for being so damn adorable.

Nick chucked his jacket on the floor. He took of his shoes and coiled up on the couch. _Calm down Stokes you're drunk…maybe it's not as bad as it seems in the morning light._ He was exhausted. His eyes fell shut within seconds.


	5. Chapter 5

Doc Robbins stood over the body of an old woman when Greg entered the morgue. "Hey Doc." He didn't want to startle the pathologist by sneaking up on him. Doc Robbins turned around and greeted him with a small smile. "I assume you are here for your body parts?" Greg nodded. The doctor limped over to one of the other tables where he had stored the cut up remains of Alastair Stewart. "Your first solo case, I hear."

"Yes, but only because it almost went cold a couple of days ago. Grissom must have thought my time is more expandable than his or Sara's," Greg confirmed with a sour undertone in his voice. Doc Robbins put on his glasses. He looked at the young man over the brim. "Greg, I think Grissom trusts your abilities more than you give him credit for."

The pathologist picked up the folder for the body in front of him. "So DNA confirmed that this is your victim Alastair Stewart. The body was dismembered post mortem." He picked up one of the hands." As you can see blood flow had already stopped when those cuts were made."

Greg nodded. He was glad to hear it. The case was gruesome enough without the man being chopped up while he was still alive. "COD?" he enquired.

Doc Robbins picked up the head and pointed to a fracture in the skull. "Blunt-force trauma. Dave found a splitter in the wound. Possibly a piece of the murder weapon. He sent it to Hodges."

He left the morgue to head to trace. Instead of taking the lift he decided for the stairs. He needed some time to think. Not about the case, but about what happened just a couple of hours ago. Why had Nick to invade his personal space like that? Why did he have to be jealous over a stupid meaningless flirt? Why did he need to trigger the memory of the feelings he had for him years ago?

He hadn't thought about Nick in a romantic way for years. They were friends and that was that. He signed and ran his fingers through his sandy hair. His stomach felt queasy. He needed to get those thoughts out of his head again. It would only break his heart all over again as he knew there was no way Nick could return his affections.

He couldn't think about those soulful walnut eyes of his. Or his heart-warming smile…or that the older man was the most upstanding and earnest guy he had ever met. He couldn't think about the ways he made him feel when he was around him.

Greg was shocked to realise it. Deep in his heart he had never really got rid of those feelings. That must be the reason why he always became so uneasy when Nick talked about settling down.

 _Damn you Greg…you are an idiot. It is never gonna happen. You have to get that in your head._

It was like re-open a wound. It hurt but it would get better over time. The friendship Nick and he had was a great thing and he would definitely not jeopardise it by lusting for his friend.

He had reached the right level. He opened the door and entered the lab. He had decided that Nick would never learn about his feelings. Not if he could help it.

"What do you have for me Hodges?" He didn't waste any time when he entered the trace lab. "Hello to you too, Sanders." The annoying tech eyed him up. "You're alright? You look flustered."

Greg really didn't have the patience to deal with Dave Hodges today. "The splinter that the morgue send to you?" He enquired impatiently. Hodges waved him closer. Greg complied with a sigh.

"Have a look yourself," the trace technician demanded and pointed to the microscope. Greg stepped to the microscope and through it. "Crystals?"

"CaCO3 in the varieties of calcite and aragonite to be precise," Hodges smirked smugly. Greg looked up. He frowned contemplating what that result told him. "My victim was a geologist. Fossils can have both varieties of CaCO3 in their shells."

"Death by fossil- not the worst way to go," Hodges mumbled. He put his arms on his hips. "See. You always get something incredible from trace."

Greg looked at Hodges slightly shaking his head. "Whatever." That guy was just unbelievable. "Looks like I have to go back to the geology department again."

* * *

Nick groaned painfully when he woke up. His head was a spinning mess and he felt nauseous. Why again did he think it had been a good idea to drink that much yesterday? When he sat up he regretted it immediately. He had to close his eyes for a second as pain rushed to his head.

Only a while later he attempted to get up from his couch. He managed to get to the kitchen and drank a couple of glasses of water. He left the glass behind on the counter and proceeded to his bathroom. After he had relieved his bladder, he stripped and stepped under the shower.

The warm water on his bare skin felt incredible. Slowly but surely he felt like a human being again.

 _How did I get back home?_

Greg drove him if he remembered right. He also helped him to get to his door. After that everything was a blur. Nick had the feeling there was something he should remember.

 _Ahhh fuck…_

It had been a while since he had a black out from drinking. He sighed when the reason for his drunken state came to mind. He had been jealous of a random guy. He had been jealous on the behalf of another man flirting with Greg.

He ran his hand through his dark wet hair, before he stopped the shower. Had he said something to Greg about it? Not that he remembered, but that was no guarantee.

Nick stepped out of his shower, grabbed a tower and wrapped it around his hip. He wiped away the condensed water from his mirror. He looked in his hungover face, examining himself. He had to face it. He had never had feelings for another man in his life; but he had feelings for Greg.

He wasn't quite sure how deep those feelings went. Fact was that he could not ignore them any longer. It scared him a bit as he had no idea how to handle this.

He was a man in his mid-thirties who finally realised that he might not be exactly heterosexual.

* * *

Greg parked at the departmental parking lot. Brass hadn't issued a police escort this time. It was morning, the university was buzzing and LVPD had to secure a crime scene at the strip where they needed all available man power.

 _Not that a professor has been sliced and diced here before a while ago_ he couldn't stop himself from thinking sarcastically.

He shook it off. He would be perfectly fine by himself.

Greg grabbed his kit and entered the building. He had to admit to himself, he had missed hanging out at the university campus. His years in Stanford had been some of the best. Not only because he had easily aced all his courses, but also because people had appreciated his intelligence. Something that was amiss in the lab sometimes. He blamed his own skittish behaviour when he was working in the DNA lab. However, it was about time that people realised that there was more to him than loud music and colourful hair dos.

He announced his presence in the department to the secretary. He handed her the warrant for the fossil collection. "It would be very helpful if you could appoint someone who knows their way around the collection. It would save me some time." The secretary promised to send someone and handed him the key to the storage room.

Greg opened the door and entered a huge room that was packed full of ceiling-high chests of drawers. The individual chests had labels. That at least was helpful. Greg pulled a sheet of paper from his jacket. Doc Robbins had made a cast of the weapon that caused the blunt-force trauma. It was approximately cone shaped and relatively sharp edged. This finding excluded at least 80% of fossils.

He put his kit down on a desk that was nestled in a corner. He took off his jacket and hanged it over the associated chair. Then he pulled some gloves from the kit and put them on. He sighed. He wasn't sure where to start searching, therefore he decided to start on one side of the room and do a systematic search.

Some of the fossils had been collected a long time ago. When he opened the drawers that contained them a dust cloud welled up. Greg coughed.

"You keep coming back here," the voice was amused. "You missed me?"

Greg looked up and saw Kenneth leaning against one chest of drawers; his arms folded, a smug smile on his face. Greg rolled his eyes. "Sure…" He got up from his kneeling position and looked at the PhD student. "Are you here to help me? Otherwise I have to ask you to leave."

Kenneth seemed a bit taken aback, that Greg didn't respond to his flirting. "The secretary sent me. I work as a research assistant for the palaeontology group. She thought I was best fit to help you." Greg nodded slowly. "Alright. I'm looking for a fossil with radial shape. It has both calcite and aragonite components." Kenneth run his fingers through his auburn hair and thought about it. "Maybe it's a rudist you're looking for." He waved Greg to follow him. "We store them here. We have about 2000 specimen, but only about 1/3 have radial shapes like you described." Greg handed him some gloves. "Put those on. If you find anything out of order or a spec of blood, notify me and I take it from there. Understood?" Kenneth nodded.

They worked silently for about half an hour. "I'm sorry if I offended you in any way," Kenneth offered. Greg sighed silently. He closed one of the drawers and opened the next one. "You did not offend me. Truth is I just started out as a CSI and I still have to prove myself to my superiors. This case…it is just nerve-wracking. I don't want to screw it up."

"And flirting back would screw up your case? Because I'm a suspect, right?" The red-head laughed, but something in his tone didn't sit right with Greg. He cleared his throat. "Yes. Let's just concentrate on finding the murder weapon."

Greg realised that he gave Kenneth a couple of side-glances when they continued their search. If he was honest with himself, he would have probably flirted back if it wasn't for the whole drunken Nick thing. Now he was relieved that his friend had occupied his thoughts. He started to get suspicious of Kenneth. Was it really a coincidence that he had walked into him yesterday? Or that he was the person the secretary had sent to help him? His guts told him that something was not right.

His attention got redirected when he saw what was contained in the drawer he had just opened. There it was his murder weapon. A radial shaped rudist with dried blood on its tip. Eureka.

He got up and walked to his kit in the corner to get a sample bag. When he came back the fossil was gone. As was Kenneth. He turned around and was about to pull his mobile from his pocket when he was struck brutally at the back of his head. His mobile slipped out of his hand and dropped on the ground.

Greg collapsed against a chest of drawers his vision blurry. His knees felt wobbly and he slide down onto the ground. He raised his hands in front of his face just in time to prevent his assailant to give him a second blow to the head. Instead the blow hit his wrist that broke with a loud crack. He screamed out in pain.

Through his fingers he could see Kenneth hovering over him, torn between hitting him again and fleeing. The rea-head dropped the weapon and opted for getting the hell out of there.

Greg raised his uninjured hand to the back of his head. His hair was wet. When he looked at his hand it was covered with blood. He closed his eyes for a second. He had to call for help. Kenneth could decide it would be better to cut him into pieces as well and come back. He crawled across the floor to his mobile. He hit speed dial #1.

"911. What is your emergency?"

"This is CSI Sanders…" It was hard to keep concentrated. "…I was attacked."


	6. Chapter 6

**See end of chapter for notes**

When he left the elevator he saw Brass, Sara and Grissom in the waiting area. They talked quietly to each other. Nick swallowed nervously.

 _Please God, let him be okay_

The whole drive to the hospital horrific scenarios kept playing in his mind. Greg's limp and broken body in a hospital bed, connected to machines that kept him alive. He couldn't help but remember, when the DNA lab had exploded and his friend had been treated for 3rd degree burning. The lively lab-tech had looked so small and vulnerable.

"What happened? Is Greg okay?" Nick felt his voice wavering.

Grissom turned and looked at him. "He is alright, considering. The doctor told us he had a deep laceration on the back of his head and an associated concussion. Also his right wrist is broken."

Nick hated how distanced Grissom's voice sounded. He knew he shouldn't let it bother him. Grissom compartmentalised. It was his coping mechanism. Nick looked at Sara. She looked worried.

"How did this happen?" Nick repeated the first part of this question.

"Greg went to the university to look for the murder weapon. That is everything we know so far. When I take his statement we will know more," Brass finally answered. Nick couldn't shake the feeling there was more to the story. "Were was the officer when he got attacked?"

Grissom cleared his voice. "There was no officer. He went alone."

"What?" Nick raised his voice. He couldn't believe what he just heard. "How could you allow him to go alone, Grissom? There is a good reason we don't into the field without police protection." He put his hands on his hips making himself bigger automatically.

"We had a situation at the strip. All hands on deck for LVPD. We honestly thought it would be safe to go to the university during the day," Brass explained and raised his hands defensively. "I admit it was a mistake?"

"You think?" Nick was furious. "He could be dead! Do I have to remind everyone what happened to Holly Bricks?" Sara stepped towards him and put her hand on his shoulder in a pacifying way. "Listen Nick…I don't agree with the decision that Brass and Grissom made, but it's done. Greg will be alright and that is what is important."

Nick rolled his eyes. He blamed Grissom and Brass for this. "We will see, won't we?" After the explosion a couple of years ago, Greg had been a nervous wreck. It had been an accident that time. This time someone deliberately attacked him. It would leave emotional scars, Nick was sure about that. Whoever attacked his friend should pray not to get in his sight.

The tension between the four of them was undeniable.

"Are you here for ?" The appearance of the nurse was a lucky break. They all nodded synchronously. "Can we see him?" Sara asked hopefully. "I don't see why not." Nurse Ana smiled and led them to Greg's room. "You go first guys. I will take his statement when you are done," Brass said. Truth be told he didn't think it was a good idea for all of them to visit together as long as Nick was still that enraged. Sara and Grissom seemed to concur.

"You go first, Nicky. You're the only one who is strictly a visitor. I will have to process him later." Sara pointed to the kit in her hands. "Alright…"

Nick was relieved to be able to visit Greg on his own. He was too furious about the whole situation. He closed the door behind him. He turned to look at his friend. Greg was slightly paler than usual. A bandage was wrapped around his head and a cast stabilised his wrist. All and all he really seemed alright. His big brown eyes gazed curiously at Nick. A gentle smiled played about Greg's lips.

"What is so funny?" Confusion replaced Nick's anger.

"You Nick. You know I can fight my own fights, but I'm flattered you get so upset for me. I'm fine really." Nick frowned, still confused. "I could hear you yell at Brass and Grissom," Greg offered as explanation.

Nick smirked. " I know, G. I needed to get this off my chest. Otherwise I'll explode." It was good to see that Greg was not only alright physically. He also seemed to deal well with the attack emotionally. "And we wouldn't want you to explode, would we?" Greg snickered weakly. He gestured at Nick to sit down. The Texan did as asked, his gaze never leaving those brown eyes.

"Thanks for having my back," Greg said quietly. "But…it's not their fault. At least not entirely. I knew something wasn't right at some point. Then I got distracted…" Nick reached out and tousled the Greg's hair that stuck out of the bandages carefully. At the moment he wore them with pretty long with blonde highlights. "We need to work on your focus then," he joked.

Then his expression became serious. "Seriously G, you were god damn lucky. The guy could have killed you." Greg's gaze shifted uncomfortably. He looked down at his hands like a scolded child. "I'm well aware of that, Nick."

Nick saw his expression. He didn't want for Greg to feel like he did something wrong. He shifted in his chair. He hesitated a second, but then put his hand on top of Greg's. "Listen, I'm just glad that you are still in one piece." Greg's eyes shifted back to his. "We'll get that guy and he'll have to answer for what he has done."

* * *

 _"We must have been stone crazy ,when we thought we were just friends..."_

The old 90s tune sounded from his radio. He stood outside of Warrick's flat waiting for his best friend. Warrick's car was with the mechanics, therefore Nick had promised him to pick him up for work. As always Warrick took his sweet time to get downstairs.

Which meant Nick was alone with his thoughts. Thoughts that were circling around another one of his friends. How could it be that you look at a person for years and suddenly you realise how beautiful their eyes are, he wondered. He sighed loudly and put his head on the steering wheel. He had to get Greg out of his mind.

"Hey man, what's up?" Warrick sat down next to him. Nick didn't need to turn his head. Warrick's voice was worried. "I don't know where to start," Nick admitted. He rubbed his face with his hands. Why was his life suddenly so seemingly complicated? He turned his head slightly and looked at his best friend. Maybe it would help him to talk it through with Warrick.

"Have you ever realised you might have feelings for someone you never expected to?" Warrick lifted one of his eyebrows. "Sure…I get the feeling there is more to it than that though…who are we talking about?"

"Greg," Nick blurted out. Warrick smirked. "It should surprise me given your history. But somehow it doesn't. Are you freaking out because you think you're gay?"

Nick sat back up straight. He shook his head. "No. I know I'm not. I didn't live a lie my whole life because I hate myself or anything like that." He wanted to make that clear. "So you're bisexual. Lots of people are. Freud would be happy." Nick had to smile. It was refreshing that Warrick was so open about it. Not that he had doubted him. "I'm not 'freaking' out because it's a man I might have feelings for, but because it is a good friend." Of course this was not completely true. But he was not about to get all gooey about it in front of his best friend. Some things were better figured out alone. "Should I risk our friendship to satisfy my curiosity?" Warrick shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know, man. If your friendship is as strong as I think it is, you could give it a try and still continue to be friends should it not work out. It happens all the time. Happened to Catherine and me."

Nick cocked his head. "You and Cath had a thing? You never told me." Warrick scratched the back of his head. "Not much to tell. We always had this chemistry. We kissed once…and that was that. It would not have worked out. Believe me." He looked at the Texan seriously. "It should not keep you from trying though. Who knows- maybe Sanders is exactly what you need."

Nick smiled benignly and started the car. "I don't even know if I'm sexually attracted to him." Warrick laughed quietly. His green eyes looking mischievous. "One more reason to give Sanders a smooch."

* * *

Warrick and Nick had just solved a case that involved someone killed with a shotgun, beavers that weaved money into their dams and sports bets. They had nailed the killer and LVPD took him into custody. They were about to leave the police department when Brass walked in. The uniformed police officer who accompanied him led a hand-cuffed redhead to one of the interview rooms. "Give me a sec Warrick, will ya?"

He closed on Brass and tapped on his shoulders. "Is this the guy who attacked Greg?" Brass nodded. "Indeed. With Sanders statement it was child's play to find him." Nick starred through the glass window. The guy looked like your average university student. But then again most murderers looked pretty average. "Do you mind if I sit in? I know it's technically not my case…" Brass pinched the ridge of his nose. "Alright, Stokes. But one outburst like yesterday in the hospital and you're out."

"I understand." He returned to Warrick to tell him he would stay for the interview, then joined Brass and the suspect in the interview room. While he settled into one of the chairs, he used the time to examine the redhead. He wondered if it was this guy who tried to use is moves on Greg.

"So Kenneth…" Brass started," wanna tell me why you attacked CSI Sanders?" Kenneth's eyes shifted from Brass to Nick. "Who is that?" he demanded to know. "That is CSI Stokes." Brass cocked his head. "But let's focus our attention on the attack. You think you can do that?"

Kenneth ran his fingers through his hair. "Okay, I attacked him. I admit it." Brass opened the folder he had in front of him and showed Kenneth a picture of the murder weapon in the Stewart case. "Seen this before?" The student shook his head determinately. "Curious. This picture was taken by CSI Sanders, before he was attacked. When one of the CSIs returned to the crime scene to obtain Sander's kit, the fossil was gone. Wanna know what I think? I think you took it, so the CSIs couldn't match you to the murder weapon." Kenneth hung his head. He scratched his arm absent-minded. "I did not kill the prof." He looked up. "I wasn't even in Vegas, when he was killed. I was in Hurricane to visit my folks. You can ask them. I returned the afternoon when they found the bloody lab."

Brass wrote his statement down. Nick believed the kid to his own surprise. He didn't seem good for the murder of the professor. But he knew more than he told them. He was protecting someone. "You know who killed Prof. Stewart, don't you? You want to protect them. That is why you attacked Greg." Kenneth surprised facial expression told Nick that he was right.

"Is Greg..I mean CSI Sanders…is he hurt badly? "Kenneth enquired his bad conscious eating away on him. "He's in the hospital. You knocked him around pretty well." Nick had to keep his temper in place. He wanted nothing more than to do the same to Kenneth.

"Listen kid, you will go to prison for assault, but you can help yourself and tell us everything you know." Brass looked at his suspect impatiently.

"I don't think so. I want a lawyer."

* * *

 **So epic hiatus for this story...^^" This happens when you have too much going on in your life (finishing grad school, moving to another country...)**

 **But it's finally continuing...so yippie XD**


	7. Chapter 7

Greg had the leave to go home the next day. The doctor had solely wanted to keep him under surveillance overnight because of his concussion. Nick came by the hospital to drive him as Greg couldn't drive himself due to his broken wrist. He even brought him some sweatpants and a T-shirt from his locker at work, so he could wear fresh clothes instead of the ones he wore yesterday when he was attacked. "Thanks, Nick." Greg changed out of his hospital gown into the clean clothes. Nick turned around to give him his privacy.

Nick cleared his throat. "You're fine to go?" he asked after a few minutes. "Yes, let's go."

Greg sat down on the passenger seat and put on his seat belt. Nick got in behind the steering wheel. The Texan started the car. They drove silently for a while. "I need to apologise," Nick said after a while. Greg looked at him frowning. What would he have to apologise for? He went mad at Grissom, Sara and Brass on his behalf and now he fetched him from the hospital. "I don't understand…"

"For the other night. I 'm well aware I stepped into your personal space. I'm sorry." It clicked with Greg. Nick talked about the night he got wasted. "It's alright, don't sweat it." Greg looked over to him and smiled. It was just like Nick to get worked up about something like that. Greg snickered gently. "For a moment there, I thought you were going to kiss me," he admitted. When Nick stayed quiet, he got worried. Did he cross a line with that comment? "Nick?"

Nick looked torn. Greg could see he was contemplating to say something. "Look Nick, that was a stupid joke. Just forget I said anything." _You had to open your blabbermouth, Sanders._ How could he be so stupid? It seemed he had insulted Nick deeply by even suggesting he might have thought about kissing him. Hopefully, the Texan could forgive him…however, he still felt slightly hurt that it seemed to be such a crazy suggestion. Greg continued to look at his friend worried.

Nicked sighed surrendering. "Would it have been a bad thing if I did?" His voice was slightly hoarse. Greg's jaw dropped. He had expected his friend to be mad at him, to tell him that he was an idiot and that something like that was out of the question. But definitely not that…

"Beg your pardon?" That was all he could come up with. "Would it have been a bad thing if I kissed you?" Nick repeated, this time louder and with more confidence. "You wanted to kiss me?" Greg was flabbergasted to say the least. Nick shook and nodded his head at the same time. "Yes..I mean..I don't know…" He looked confused and lost for words. During all this time he had kept his view straight on the road. "Talk to me Nick," Greg begged. Whatever was going through Nick's head, he had to know it.

But Nick remained silent for the rest of the trip. He parked in front of Greg's apartment building. He shut the car down and turned to Greg. The look in his walnut brown eyes was intensive. He breathed deeply. "I don't know exactly what has caused it, but recently I realised that you are more to me than a friend, G. I was jealous that night. That's why I got so drunk. To be honest with you, I don't know what I should do about it or how I even feel about it. Warrick said I should give us a try..."

Greg raised his eyebrows. He had feelings for him? He had been jealous? "You told Warrick about this?" Nick nodded. "I had to discuss it with someone. Since it is kinda about you, I could hardly discuss it with you." The Texan took Greg's hands in his. "Of course I know, only because I might have feelings for you doesn't mean you have them for me too. I'm well aware. So you want me to back off, I will. We can even pretend I never said anything…"

Greg didn't know what to say. This was a surprise. He was unsure what to respond. He didn't want to risk their friendship. It was very important to him. He would loath to lose his 'brother' about this. On the other hand, if Nick wanted to give it a shot, why shouldn't he be willing to? He chewed on his lower lip.

"Say something Greg." It was Nick's turn to beg now. Greg smiled and squeezed his friend's hands. "Let's hang out later this week and see where it leads us." He could not call it a date. That felt wrong somehow. "That's all I ask for, G. Thanks." Nick's lips quirked up into one of his adorable smiles. Greg let go of his hands and opened the car door. "Thanks for driving me." He climbed out of the car. Before he walked into his building, he turned to Nick once more. "Thank you for telling me. I know that must have been hard for you. I appreciate it." He waved him goodbye.

* * *

The landlord opened the door to Kenneth Miller's flat. "Do you need me for anything else?" the old man asked nervously. He rented this flat out to students for decades and never had any troubles with them. To hear his current tenant was under investigation for murder had left him worried. "No that's everything. Thank you for your cooperation Mr. Turner."

Sara placed her kit in the middle of the room and looked around. Kenneth's room was that of a normal university student. Nothing fancy, slightly messy, with books and papers scattered over the place. Somehow it reminded her of Greg's flat. She smiled inwardly.

She put on some gloves and started to look for that bloody rudist, literally. The murder weapon that killed Prof. Stewart and was most likely also used to strike her friend down. Differently than Nick, Greg hadn't blamed them for what happened. He blamed himself- it was so typically for him. Sara had blamed herself before Nick said a word. She should have offered him to accompany him. Instead she had seen that case somehow beneath her. Seen it as a waste of time. Ohh what a good friend she was, she thought cynically.

Sara started looking in the obvious places: the wardrobe, chest of drawers. When she couldn't find what she was looking for she tried some more unexpected places, keeping in mind she dealt with a early tween researcher. "Eureka," she exclaimed when she retrieved a blood stained piece of rock that had the form of a cone. This had to be the rudist. She tested the red smear. The result showed that it was human blood. At least she was able to catch a lucky break.

Sara returned to the lab where she handed the object to swap it for DNA and subsequently to Hodges in trace. Waiting was the hardest part. She decided to catch up on some paper work meanwhile. Not only was it a good way to pass the time, but also to occupy her bad consciousness.

A while later Wendy entered the breakroom, where Sara was sat down, surrounded by paper scattered all over the table. "I have your results," the DNA tech said vaguely. Sara perked up an eyebrow. She took the report from Wendy's hands. "Okay, so there were blood contributions from both Prof. Stewart and Greg… "So far so good. This was definitely their murder weapon. "There is more Wendy pointed out." Hodges found a hair follicle stuck in the fissures of the fossil. "It doesn't match to Kenneth." Sara was surprised to say the least. The DNA tech shook her hand. "He couldn't be. I can't tell you who it belongs to, but it's a woman's."

* * *

Sara arrived at the police department half an hour later. When she wandered through the hallways she spotted Greg sitting in the waiting room. She decided to make a quick detour and talk to him. When she approached him, he didn't seem to notice him. "Daydreaming, Greggo?" she asked a little bit amused. He flinched startled. "Sara…gosh…" he replied and stroked nervously over his forehead. " What are you doing here?" the brown-haired enquired. "You should be at home resting." Greg rolled his eyes slightly. "Sara, I'm fine. But I wanna know….need to know why that Kenneth guy attacked me." Sara nodded. He needed closure. She could understand. She sighed relentingly. "Alright, you can sit in, if Brass gives his okay as well." Greg smiles benignly and followed her to the interrogation room.

Brass had no objections against Greg sitting in. He was even convinced that it will jump start Kenneth's guilty consciousness and maybe he would be more likely to collaborate. "Try to look hurt, Sanders." – "Don't need to try my wrist is actually killing me, Brass." Greg grimaced in pain as to emphasise his statement. "Even better," Brass grunted satisfied.

Greg settled in the back of the room. His presence made Kenneth obviously uncomfortable as Sara realised with grim approval. The redhead was very twitchy. He must know that they had new evidence to confront him with. Interestingly enough he had sent his lawyer away. Was he willing to talk now? Brass spread the pictures of the bloody murder weapon out on the table. "Look what CSI Sidle found in your flat, Kenneth. The fossil that has gone missing when you attacked CSI Sanders. And surprise it has the blood of the good old professor all over it." The captain shook his head. "Doesn't look good for you kid. Maybe you should call this lawyer of yours back." Kenneth nibbled on his nails. "I didn't kill the professor…"he wined.

"I believe you," Sara replied. She put a picture of the hair Hodges had found on the fossil down. "We found this hair stuck in the fissures on the murder weapon. It belongs to a woman." She gave him a knowing smile. "You know who killed him and you want to protect her." Kenneth nodded weakly.

"Do yourself a favour and tell us who she is," Brass advised the young man. Kenneth seemed to be torn. He had attacked a CSI to protect the murderer. He was probably asking himself if that wasn't in vain if he gave her up now.

"Kenneth," Greg spoke up. "I know you think you doing her a big favour…you see yourself as the protector. But think about this: Who is gonna protect you?" His big brown eyes looked at the man who attacked him with compassion. Sara admired her younger colleague for that. She didn't know if she could be that forgiving if she was in his shoes. "You already face conviction for assault. Do you want them to get you for obstruction of justice as well? Do yourself a favour, tell us who killed the professor. No cold-blooded murder who cuts their victim into pieces and stores them in his own fridge is worth destroying your life for." Greg was so right. Whoever committed this crime could not have done so in self-defence. A small smile appeared on Sara's lips when she finally recognised how much her friend had grown in the past month.

Kenneth slumped down on his chair. "Alright, alright I see your point, I'll tell you." He looked at Brass and sighed.

"It's was Mrs. Stewart!"


	8. Chapter 8

"Yes, I killed my husband, I admit it." Mrs. Stewart looked at Captain Brass defiantly. With her Chanel jacket and Louis Vuitton clutch, she looked more than out of place in the interrogation room. "Yes, your little friend Kenneth told us that," Brass said nodding. "What I want to know is why. If you would be so nice to elaborate." Mrs. Stewart crossed her legs and leaned back. "Because he cheated on me…with his secretary. Does it get anymore cliché?" Brass cocked his head thoughtfully. "Don't you think a divorce would have done the trick? You killed him and then you cut him into pieces, only to store him in his own fridge in his office. That's what I call vengeful." The murderous woman pursed her lips and smiled maliciously. "I was hoping **she** would find him…my plan was to clean the room where I cut him up, but that frigging student came in way too early and there was no time left."

"She doesn't regret it at all," Nick commented. He and Warrick stood behind the glass-mirror and observed the interrogation. "No man, if anything she seems kinda proud. Remind me never to piss of a woman like that, Nick." Warrick folded his hands behind his head. "But on the bright side…another case closed." Nick shook his head. He still couldn't believe it. "Brass is right though. People should just get divorced instead of murdering each other. Would make our life a whole lot easier as well." He opened the door to leave the small room. "Amen to that," Warrick replied following Nick out of the room.

The two men returned to the crime lab. Their shift would end in an hour. Both of them prayed that they wouldn't get another case and could call it a day by then. They had worked a lot of overtime in the last couple of weeks. "I heard you are off tomorrow, Nick," Warrick stated curiously. "Yeah you heard right." A whimsical smile appeared on the Texan's lips. "Any plans?"

"Gonna spend the day with Greg." Warrick raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Spending time as in a date? Or as in two guys hanging out together?" He really hoped it was former. Nick should give it a try. He just wanted to see his friend happy and he knew he would be happier, if he had someone special by his side. Even if that someone happened to be Sanders. Nick turned to his friend. "We didn't call it a date, but you might as well say it is one…at least in my eyes." Nick admitted that he was more than a little nervous about it. He knew very well what worked with the ladies, but he was at a loss as what tomorrow would bring.

* * *

The car came to a halt at one of the viewing spots at Lake Mead. The two men got out of the black SUV. They stepped close to the edge and looked down onto the shimmering blue water. A gust of wind tousled Greg's hair. "This is beautiful," he stated. His eyes sparkled. Nick leaned back against the hood of his car with a satisfied smile on his face. "I'm glad you like it." He had put a lot of thought into where to go with Greg. He decided it might be nice to go somewhere where they could talk in peace without any prying eyes. His favourite spot at Lake Mead came into mind. Nick came here whenever he needed to think and clear his head."Have you never been up here?"

Greg turned around and shook his head. "Can't say I have. I have to admit, I never really left Vegas to venture out into the surroundings." His gaze took in the incredible landscape. "I regret it now." Greg rubbed the cast that covered his broken wrist absent-minded. Nick stepped closer to his friend.

"Does it still hurt?" Greg stopped in his motion and looked to Nick with a docile smile. "No, it's just freaking itchy. Can't wait to get rid of it in three weeks." The cast was a constant reminder to Greg how foolish and careless he had been. Nick had been right when he pointed out how lucky he had been that day. Greg cast his eyes to the ground until he felt a hand on his cheek. "Greg, don't torture yourself. I know I said some pretty hard things in the hospital. But let me assure you, I was just afraid how close I came to losing you."

Greg sighed. "It's alright. I get it. I would have been furious with you as well. Let's not talk about this anymore. Today is supposed to be our first date, remember?" Nick chuckled lightly. "As far as I remember you said: Let's hang out and see…but okay let's call it a date. I won't object." In fact it was exactly what Nick wished for. He grabbed Greg's good arm and pulled the younger man closer to him. "Tell me what you think, Greggo. Are you really up for giving this….giving us a chance?"

Greg looked at him with his big brown eyes, contemplating. How many times had he dreamt of this, when he first joined the lab? Whished for Nick to see him as more as just the geeky DNA technician? Now that Nick was finally prepared to make that step, he had to admit to himself that he was the one who was afraid. For a man who was just figuring out that he could also be attracted to the same sex, Nick was surprisingly calm.

"I need to confess something," Greg started. "I used to have the biggest crush on you. But since I thought I would never have a chance, I forced myself to get over you. It broke my heart. "Greg offered Nick a tentative smile. "And now you stand here in front of me and ask me to gives us a try…I am…I am afraid it might break my heart all over again." His gaze was pleading. "Promise me this has nothing to do with satisfying a curiosity."

"Oh Greg…" Nick could see that his friend was serious. He felt ashamed that Greg could even think something like that, but he admitted that he did in fact not have a great track record when it came to relationships and this was a complete new territory for him. That Greg had this vulnerable side to himself was also new to Nick. He had to admit that he liked it. "I cannot promise that I will never do anything stupid- I am still me." And he had done some pretty stupid things in his time. "But I can promise you that it has nothing to do with curiosity. I wouldn't gamble our friendship away for mere curiosity. " He would never hurt Greg on purpose. He lifted his hand and caressed Greg's lips with his thumb. "I think," Nick murmured, his voice hoarse." We owe it to ourselves to see if there is chemistry between us…"

There was no question that there was physical attraction between them, otherwise they wouldn't find themselves at this point, but that didn't mean that they were right for each other. Greg didn't reply but looked at the Texan full of expectations. Nick smiled softly and closed the distance between them.

Greg's lips were softer than he would have imagined. It took the younger man a second before he started to reciprocate, but when he did it was heaven. Soon they deepened the kiss, melting against each other. Greg tasted like an exquisite mix of honey and coffee (no surprise there). Nick put his arms round Greg's waist. He would never have thought in a million years that he could enjoy kissing another man like that. With reluctance he released the other man when they need to catch their breath.

"Wooah…that was different," Greg said finally after he had be silent for a long moment. "I hope in a good way?" Nick wasn't usually self-conscious about his kissing skills, but then again this was a brand new situation for him. "Yes, Nicky…in a good way," Greg replied with a big smile. "I'm glad to hear that." Nick said with a slight chuckle. "I think we passed the test." He added and winked at his friend. "Let's try this, Greg. For real…"

"Yeah, let's try," Greg agreed. "But let's go slower from now on. I want us to do this right….we don't need to rush this…" He didn't want to voice his fear that Nick might freak out when he realised what he had gotten himself into. Luckily the Texan agreed with him. "I don't mind taking it slow. Slow is good." He took Greg's hands into his. "How about we go on a proper date next time?"

* * *

The last couple of days Greg felt like he was walking on a dream. Never would he have expected that his crush would ever amount to anything. Not after all this time. The best about all of this was, that it was Nick who had shown initiative and Greg was more than eager to let himself get swept of his feet by the attractive Texan.

Yesterday they had been on their first real date. A nice dinner in one of the cosy restaurants of Las Vegas, far away from the superficial world of the Strip. They had talked for a long time. Greg actually learned a couple of things that he had no known about Nick. Not even after all this years of being friends. But then there were things you would only tell someone who is a bit more than just a friend, Greg figured.

The night had ended with tender kisses when Nick dropped Greg off at his apartment. They said they wanted to take it slow. At least for the moment they managed to stay true to this promise. In any way, Greg didn't believe that Nick was really ready to take their new-found relationship to the next level yet. He would be patient and give his (boy)friend the time he needed to figure things out. Since Nick was an awesome kisser he would be more than fine with only that for a while.

Suffice to say: Greg was in very high spirits when he reported back for work. Such high spirits in fact that he had Hodges talking him into playing his self-invented board game with him. As ever Hodges was a handful, even telling him that he missed the "old Greg" with the ugly shirts and goofy hair. Yikes, what kind of compliment was that for crying out loud?

Had he known the shift would turn into a nightmare within a couple of hours, maybe he would have appreciated this carefree time more. When he first heard that Nick was missing he thought that it had to be a bad joke. It couldn't be true right? But when Grissom, Sara and Warrick returned from the scene where Nick had gone missing from with anxious gazes, he knew it to be true. Greg's stomach dropped and he felt a wave of nausea coming on.

 _This cannot be happening…_

* * *

 ** _So I guess you guys know where we are heading now. Exactly- Gravedanger  
_**

 ** _I decided to leave the big events that are important for the characters of the two main charas in the story, but don't worry my version will be a bit different from the episode :)_**


	9. Chapter 9

Greg bend over the sink and splashed some cold water into his face. He was barely able to control his shaking hands. Him freaking out wouldn't help Nick at all. He had to keep it together, distance himself from the fact that his friend might be dead or tortured or…

 _For Christ's sake Greg, keep it together…_

He gave himself another minute, before he steeled himself and walked back out into the hallway. His first idea was to pull all of Nick's old cases. Maybe there was someone who had a grudge and wanted to make the Texan pay. He had just pulled all the files, when he walked into Grissom. His boss told him to do exactly as he had already planned. Under normal circumstances, Greg would have retorted with a maybe passive-aggressive, but nonetheless cheeky comment, but he felt he needed all his energy to keep a clear head. So he gave Grissom a meek response and went his way.

Greg sat down at one of the meeting rooms. It didn't take him too long to sort through all the folders, checking up on the guy that stalked Nick a while ago. He found nothing though. Nada. Nichts. Niente. It was fucking frustrating to say the least.

When the team came together soon after that. It took all his strength not to scream at his co-workers. Nick had been gone a couple of hours now and all they had found out was that he might have been taken in a truck…And here they were discussing what chemicals had been used to knock Nick out. What did it even matter? He had been taken to who knows where and apparently it was just dumb luck that it was Nick and not Warrick that was missing now. They had no clue whatsoever.

Greg felt the nausea coming on again, when there was a ruckus in the hallway. Hodges wrestled a guy who tried to deliver an envelope.

* * *

It turned out that the envelope originated from Nick's kidnapper. They weren't able to get any evidence from it, but it contained a cassette and a dongle. The cassette was a sick joke. The kidnapper had recorded _Outside Chance_ by The Turtles on it. Catherine was right the guy tried to screw with them and mock them.

Grissom decided to move on to the content of the dongle. The first thing that came up on the screen of the PC was a ransom demand. One million dollars to save Nicky's life. Finally a button appeared on the screen.

 **"You can only watch"**

Grissom clicked on it. The video that was shown to them made everyone speechless. It showed Nick who was buried alive…

Greg stood there for what felt forever starring at the screen. Unable to move, unable to speak. He noticed that his co-workers were talking, heard their words, but could not make out their meaning. As soon as he was able to move again he left the room. He could hear Sara call his name, but he couldn't care less. Greg could not stand being in the room anymore.

He didn't keep track of where he was headed until he found himself outside of the building. Greg paused, inhaling some of the fresh air. He slumped down the outside wall and wrapped his arms around his legs.

Nick was buried alive.

Tears stung in his eyes thinking about how frightened Nick must be. He doubted they could find him in time. There was no way the department would come up with a million dollars for ransom. So what options did that leave Nick with? Suffocation, when he would eventually run out of air, or terminal dehydration…

How was this fair? Nick was a good man…a great man with a gentle soul. He didn't deserve to die like that.

Greg put his head against his knees and surrendered to his emotions. Hot tears streamed down his face. His slender body shook with every sob that left his throat. _Don't die Nicky….please don't…_ Maybe it was selfish, but he was not ready to let Nick go.

Greg had no idea how much time passed. No one came to see if he was okay. He preferred it. The others should not waste their time on him. Finally, he managed to calm down some. Greg used his sleeves to dry his eyes, when someone handed him a tissue. He looked up - eyes all red from crying – and saw an older woman. She looked somewhat familiar to Greg. But where had he seen her face before?

"Are you crying for my son, sweetheart?" The thick Texan accent was a give-away. "Mrs. Stokes?" he croaked. "I was just…I….yes I am…" Greg didn't have the energy or heart to lie to Nick's mother. He took the tissue from Mrs. Stokes to dry his eyes. "Pathetic, I know. I should be in the lab to help the others…I am…I'm just so scared for Nick," he admitted to the older woman. "I don't blame you. It's alright to be upset. I'm pretty upset myself." Mrs. Stokes gave him a tentative smile. She might be upset but she was a southern lady who could keep her emotions under control. "This might sound awkward, but I'm actually happy to see that one of Nick's colleagues is as upset as you are." Greg frowned. Did she think the rest of the team didn't care? "The others, they care too, you know? They are just a lot more professional about it…." He felt like he needed to defend his friends.

"You are Greg Sanders, aren't you?" she enquired to Greg's surprise. "Yes, that's me…" –"I thought so. Nick has told me a lot about you. You used to be a lab technician…my son says you are a genius. Graduated from Stanford if I remember correctly." Greg was astonished to hear Nick had told his family so much about him, before they even started to see each other. This particular detail should be news to the Stokes. He reckoned that otherwise they would have a very different chat right now. He didn't know what to say. Where was this going?

"Nick also told me about the rest of the team. He says you are the best there is." She looked at Greg directly now. Her face was full of fear, but he could also see hope shimmering in her eyes. "I have to believe that if anyone will be able to find my sweet son, then it will be your team."

Greg stood up, still shaking a bit. "And you are right about that. Grissom and the others, they are the best forensic team there is." He breathed in deeply. "We will do our best to find him." Mrs. Stokes smiled at him again. "I know, sweetie."

* * *

When he woke up there was nothing but a green twilight and the flickering noise of a fan. Nick tried to sit up but hurt his head on the ceiling of wherever he was. He couldn't say. He also couldn't remember what had happened to him. He raised his arms and was again reminded that he must be in a very confined space. Finally he reached for the glow stick on his chest. Nick was still confused when he studied his surroundings. It seemed he was in a long box made out of plexiglass.

He then found his gun. He checked for ammunition and reloaded it. It was more of a reflex than anything else. He continued to study the space he was confined to when he found the a recorder. Slightly intrigued he pressed play. What he heard chilled him to the bone.

 **"Hi CSI guy! You're wondering why you're here? Because you followed the evidence…because that's what CSIs do. So breathe quick, breathe slow…put your gun in your mouth, pull the trigger. Anyway you like you're gonna die here…"**

Nick couldn't believe what he heard. He started punching against the glass without any effect. That was when he lost it for the first time.

He started screaming on the top of his lungs, trashed around and when his voice finally became hoarse he cried. How could this happen to him? How did he deserve this?

* * *

Eventually he calmed down again. He had to believe that his team…his friends would be able to find him. For now he had supply of fresh air through the little fan on the side of the box. He wouldn't suffocate any time soon.

After a while his thoughts drifted off. He thought about his parents. How much he wished to have seen them one last time. He promised himself to go and see them more often, but he always broke that promise. Told himself that he was too busy when in all honesty he just didn't make an effort. His parents were good people. They deserved better for everything they had done for him.

He thougt about his team. Grisssom, who had always been a mentor to him. Nick knew damn well that he could be a hothead, but Grissom had taught him to use this to his advantage. Catherine, who had become a good friend and someone he could talk to when he needed advise. Warrick, his best friend. Yes, there was competition there between them, but it was amicable. Yes they had butted heads more than once, but they were there for each other when it counted. Sara, who could be very intense, but had continuously grown on him since she started working in Vegas a couple of years ago. And the of course there was Greg…

Greg had always been special. He understood that now. They had gotten along from the first time they had meet. Not long and they had established a friendship that consisted of playful banter and innocent flirting. Nick could have been more supportive when Greg told him that he wanted to leave the lab and work in the field. Then he told himself that he didn't want him there, because a lab rat had no place being in the field. Maybe he was a bit worried about his friend even then….or maybe he really was just a jerk- he couldn't tell. It didn't matter anymore.

Greg would take it the hardest if this was the end for him. He didn't like to admit it, but the young man was a lot more sensitive than the rest of them. He wasn't jaded yet like the others…

Suddenly bright lights blinded him. For a couple of seconds Nick was blinded. Then he could finally see his prison for what it really was for the first time. That was when he lost it for the second time. When he finally realised what had happened to him. That he was buried alive.


End file.
